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Top Medical News
Multistrain probiotics confer significant mortality-reduction benefit in preterm infants, according to the results of a network meta-analysis.
Among patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, the likelihood of achieving sustained virologic response (SVR) with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) does not appear to be reduced among those who use alcohol or have alcohol use disorder (AUD), according to a study.
Visceral fat area (VFA) is a reliable prognostic indicator of muscle mass and is associated with nutritional, immune, and inflammatory status in patients with diverse types of cancer, such as gastric, colorectal, and nonsmall-cell lung cancers (NSCLC), claims a recent study.
In the treatment of Crohn’s disease (CD), the triple combination of vedolizumab, adalimumab, and methotrexate leads to endoscopic remission in 34.5 percent of patients and clinical remission in 54.5 percent, according to data from the phase IV EXPLORER trial.
Atypical causes of gastroparesis are present in some patients with delayed gastric emptying, a recent study has found. Moreover, patients with postsurgical or connective tissue gastroparesis experience significantly more delayed gastric emptying.
Patients with nonerosive gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) show no higher incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) when compared with the general population, according to a study.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy (MBSRT) in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) results in improved quality of life and mindfulness components, as well as reduced IBS symptoms, when compared with controls, a study has shown.
Special Reports
The WHO defines long COVID as a condition that occurs 3 months from COVID-19 onset, whose symptoms last ≥2 months and cannot be attributed to an alternative diagnosis. In an interview with MIMS Doctor, Professor Ghassan Dbaibo of the Center for Infectious Diseases, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, describes the evolving attitudes towards long COVID among healthcare professionals (HCPs), some unexpected predisposing factors, potential biological mechanisms behind prolonged symptom duration and shares data on vaccination’s protective effects against long COVID.
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Although direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are widely recommended for first-line treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE), their use in obese patients remains controversial due to the limited representation of such patients in clinical trials. As the prevalence of obesity continues its upward trend, clinicians increasingly have to make treatment decisions for obese patients. MIMS Doctor interviewed Adjunct Assistant Professor Pankaj Kumar Handa, Senior Consultant at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, to gain his perspectives on oral anticoagulation in obese patients.
While current guidelines recommend using direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) over warfarin in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), there is a lack of head-to-head trial data to guide the choice of DOAC. Esteemed expert Dr Teo Wee Siong, Consultant Cardiologist & Cardiac Electrophysiologist from Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, Singapore, reviewed the latest data on the comparative effectiveness and safety of DOACs in AF, provided valuable insights on considerations for the selection of DOACs, and shared his clinical experience with apixaban (Eliquis, Pfizer).
Long-term anticoagulation therapy is often recommended for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) to reduce their risk of stroke, but gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) is a common complication that presents a significant challenge. Patients with a history of GIB have heightened risks of recurrent bleeding events, hence interruption or discontinuation of anticoagulants is often warranted. When and how to restart anticoagulant therapy following an episode of GIB has been debated. MIMS Doctor interviewed Dr Pipin Kojodjojo, Cardiologist and Cardiac Electrophysiologist at Asian Heart & Vascular Centre, Singapore, to gather his perspectives on how to manage anticoagulant therapy after a GIB episode.
For decades, the treatment of acid-related disorders have been limited to conventional acid suppressants. However, as Dr Daphne Ang (Changi General Hospital, Singapore) explains, clinicians can now maximise acid suppression through newer acid suppressants through potassium competitive inhibition.
The three most common functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorders are regurgitation, infantile colic, and constipation. At a recent symposium, Professor Hania Szajewska from the Department of Paediatrics at the Medical University of Warsaw, Poland, discussed the role of probiotics, specifically Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 (Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis) in managing these disorders.
Overall survival (OS) is currently the primary criteria in assessing the efficacy of a cancer treatment. Dr Raghav Sundar, a consultant medical oncologist at the National University Hospital, Singapore, details the crucial role played by tumour response in evaluating treatment efficacy, with a focus on the multiple kinase inhibitor lenvatinib in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Conference Reports
Adding pembrolizumab to chemotherapy significantly improved survival outcomes and response rate compared with chemo alone in patients with locally advanced or metastatic HER2-negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) adenocarcinoma, according to the updated results of the KEYNOTE-859 study presented at ESMO WCGIC 2023.
Treatment with tremelimumab plus durvalumab (STRIDE* regimen) continues to yield overall survival (OS) benefit at 4 years among patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) compared with sorafenib, according to the updated results of the HIMALAYA trial presented at ESMO WCGIC 2023.
In patients with HER-2-overexpressing metastatic or advanced gastric/gastroesophageal (G/GEJ) adenocarcinoma, a regimen comprising standard-of-care chemotherapy and a HER2-targeting peptide vaccine induced antibody responses that corresponded with tumour size reduction, according to an analysis of the HERIZON study which looked into the correlation between antibody responses and clinical outcomes.
In the treatment of refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), the addition of bevacizumab to trifluridine/tipiracil (FTD/TPI) does not appear to hurt the quality of life (QoL), with patients receiving add-on bevacizumab being able to maintain their QoL for a longer period than those receiving FTD/TPI monotherapy, according to a post hoc analysis of the phase III SUNLIGHT trial.
In patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer, treatment with intra-arterial gemcitabine leads to better survival and safety outcomes compared with standard-of-care therapy with intravenous gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel, according to the first interim analysis of the phase III TIGeR-PaC trial presented at ESMO GI 2023.
Topical diclofenac gel significantly reduced the incidence of hand-foot syndrome (HFS) in patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancer receiving capecitabine, according to findings from the exploratory subgroup analysis of the D-ToRCH* trial.
Among patients with treatment-naïve autoimmune hepatitis, more of those who receive mycophenolate mofetil achieve remission than those who receive azathioprine, as shown in the results of the CAMARO trial.